Air New Zealand has unveiled its new uniform collection with a bold and elegant assortment of clothing options for cabin crew, pilots, and ground staff.
Air New Zealand Unveils “Anything But Uniform” New Uniforms
Designed by Emilia Wickstead and modeled on hand-painted prints from artist Te Rangitu Netana, the uniform “marks the beginning of a new era for Air New Zealand, prioritizing what makes New Zealand unique to create a collection that is anything but uniform.”
Flight attendant uniforms feature a “kōwhai print” with “purapura whetū patterns.” Pilot uniforms feature “a bold pinstriped suit with Kiwi feather lining.”
Take a look:
In short, I love these uniforms…they are unique and classy. I love the feather-print ties and suit linings. The colors and design give the uniforms a uniquely Kiwi touch.
There’s also another agenda behind these uniforms.
Air New Zealand says, “This is more than just a uniform. It’s a celebration of our people, our culture, and our values.” Indeed, these uniforms are quite progressive too, since it appears there will be gender-neutral options based on the flight attendant named “Steven” in the promo photos wearing a blouse. Per Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran:
“Air New Zealand has never been about standing still or blending in. We have a tradition of being bold, showcasing what makes us unique, and celebrating our team members. Our new uniform encapsulates everything we stand for – a combination of innovation, rich cultural heritage, and a deep sense of pride and belonging.”
I use the word “woke” cautiously because it is a word that has morphed to mean many things to many people. As I define it here, it means embracing a worldview that is aware of and actively attentive to razing historic distinctions based on gender.
Air New Zealand adds, “The uniform is a true reflection of Air New Zealand’s commitment to empowering its people. This uniform is not only a symbol of Air New Zealand’s unique place in the world, but also where Aotearoa is today.”
Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zealand.
When Will These Be Rolled Out?
The new uniforms will not be rolled out for all 6,000 employees until 2026. Starting in May 2025, they will be tested for an extended period by a subset of flight attendants. Air New Zealand first announced new uniforms before the pandemic, so this project has been years in the making.
CONCLUSION
Air New Zealand has debuted new uniforms that strike me as intricately detailed, classy, and a fitting homage to New Zealand. The new uniforms will be tested this year with plans to roll them out across the system in 2026.
What do you think of the new uniforms?
images: Air New Zealand
“As I define it here, it means embracing a worldview that is aware of and actively attentive to razing historic distinctions based on gender.”
It’s called enablement.
And it needs to stop.
ESPECIALLY in a professional setting where people are there “primarily for your safety.”
I’ve always regarded the use of the term ‘woke’ as a demonstration that the user of said term fails to understand, probably because they lack the intelligence, that others may have a set of different values and principles to their own and the also lack the ability to look critically at their own position while shouting down others as wrong. On that basis where the current Tory junta is concerned, I’m fairly certain that the vast majority of the country are ‘woke’ and that we will dispense with their services at the earliest opportunity.
You seem to fit the bill.
The term “woke” is irrelevant.
What is relevant is trying to bend and even nullify the basic tenets of biology to excuse and enable mental illness.
I don’t want someone with an obvious mental illness in charge of my safety.
You prove my point perfectly. You must be a great fit in Trumpton.
Stylish
In today’s world the word woke is in 99.9% of cases used in a derogatory manner, so I would have chosen “progressive” instead.
You’re right that progressive probably works better.
So instead of just agreeing that ‘progressive’ would have been better, why don’t you update the heading of the article. You wouldn’t want to be engaging in click bait dog whistle posting to activate the MAGAs in your audience would you??
Because I still don’t think “woke” is wrong, even if progressive is the better fit.
I’m not dogmatic about it and I genuinely like the new uniforms and don’t care what Steven wears.
Maybe you help me understand why “woke” has become such a taboo word…?
Recommend educating yourself, Matthew.
https://theconversation.com/heres-what-woke-means-and-how-to-respond-to-it-219588
“woke” is the boogieman of conservative christians. you know what you’re doing here matthew.
If the employees like them and they wear comfortably , good. The purple seems a touch deeper than I would choose, for visibility purposes.
“Woke” was a very bad choice of words, even with your explanation it doesn’t make sense. As someone else suggested “progressive” is much better.
Why is referencing design from the local culture “woke?”
It’s woke or progressive because biological males can wear uniforms/styles traditionally worn only by biological females…it has nothing to do with the design. It is a statement that goes beyond the uniform design.
I think we are an interesting time in gender expression. Things that used to be exclusively for women, are now open to men as well as we see a lot more men wearing makeup or shopping in the women’s department for a wider range of fits and cuts. I see fashion shifting from rigid constructions of male and female to masculine and feminine, where the wearer can choose to incorporate a more masculine or feminine element. We’ve seen this for decades in women’s fashion where blazers and suits, which were traditionally men’s items, get worn and adjusted in uniquely feminine ways. The inverse seems to be happening now.
I’d encourage you to look at the language you use to describe gender and sex. This is a rapidly changing area of language as we collectively seek to find the right words to describe the concepts in a better way, not to police language. “Biological Women” seems to be the choice of the right at this moment, but that is tricky. How do you define biological? Chromosomes, hormone levels, genitalia? There are exceptions to all of these; a person born with female genitalia, can have an XY chromosome, and female hormones. Would they be a “biological woman”? I don’t think I have, nor is there a perfect answer yet.
Wow ! Did you say you were conservative , and a registered Republican ???
I do believe you actually did say that many times in the past !
Wow !!!
Look Matthew you are not a conservative and you never have been .
You have been drifting towards the left ideology for a while now , especially now that the true conservatives are in power in USA .
You can’t help yourself attacking the true conservatives and their high profile supporters , like Tucker Carlson .
Let me remind you that Tucker has a following of over 100 million hits !
How many hits does your blog get ?
Comparing you to Tucker is like comparing a candle to a lighthouse !
That is why you have a dwindling base .
You reserve your most viscous criticism for the conservative thinkers .
Why ?
Probably because you have drifted so far left that you don’t even realise it .
I know it’s not the conservatives that you object to , it is the Trump Conservatives , because according to you they are not the true conservatives .
Wow !!
Well November 4 2024 proved your theory all wrong !
But you continue to live in Biden era , totally woke , discredited , and rejected by an overwhelming majority of American people !
In every way the Biden Democrats and their extreme left ideology has been repudiated by the American people .
Not only in USA , but everywhere else in the free world , just look at Europe .
Especially Germany .
Despite the fact that the Right political parties have been overwhelmingly endorsed by the German people , the new so called right of the centre party , the Christian Democratic Party won’t form a coalition with their natural allies , the German Alternative Party !
Wow ?
Why is that ?
Yes , I know they are racist , like Trump ?
Right !
But the penny hasn’t dropped for you yet ?
So continue with your woke ideology , and you will go broke like most other lefties and their organisations !
I know you will just ignore my thoughts and think that it coming from some MAGA supporter .
No Matthew ,
I am an Australian .
I don’t get to vote in USA elections .
But I get the picture .
The tide has turned and will continue to turn across the Globe .
Wokism and Leftism is toxic and is being rejected everywhere across the world .
You can still save your blog by simply choosing to stick to travelling themes , and steer away from politics .
It’s not too late for you .
But what do I know about politics Matthew
Please visit the land of Down Under .
I’m just going to address your first statement, “Look Matthew you are not a conservative and you never have been.”
Are Reagan, Bush, and Romney liberals? More importantly, is Trump a conservative? Because I certainly don’t see him as one.
Because the choice is very divisive that’s why ,!
it pretends that it is the only culture that exists and matters !
It is simply not true , and it is the Left , and only the Left , that keep shoving this absurd nonsense down people’s throats !
At least 90 % of New Zealand’s population is not Māori !
Love how this airline embraces all of its Team members.
I also like some of the options but not 25 different looks like some US airlines have.
Have always like watching Asian and Middle Eastern airline crews walking thru an airport where everyone blends in beautifully. Then the United or Delta crews walk by looking like the Goodwill bargain basement special !
Good thing Air New Zealand doesn’t fly to Florida !
Love that you’re poking the bear after this week’s earlier post! These are incredible and a great evolution of uniforms. We’ve seen a rise in gender neutral clothing, and how trends are spanning across masculine and feminine fashion when they used to be limited to one side or the other. The designer seemed to be aware of that and did a great job of including that in their designs.
It was what, three days ago that we had a blog post about the perils of a travel blog getting overly politically toxic, and today we have “woke” in the headline for clicks
You missed the point of that. The point was not avoiding political topics altogether, but whether I should avoid expressing my personal political views. The politics of this story cannot be avoided when it is so obvious…telling you what I believe is what I am considering doing much less off.
You go Woke …. You go Broke !!!
That is why it is a Taboo subject !!!
Matthew , your ‘personal political views ‘ are very well known to all your readers because you have expressed them often enough on your blog and elsewhere .
That is not the point , you are entitled to express them like everybody else !
The point is they are very much on the left of the political spectrum !!
But , you continue to pretend otherwise !
I believe this is what gets under the skin of your readers , you just need to be more honest about that !
Sorry, but you will not define me.
You’re free makes inferences, but you’re wrong.
Uhhhh… it’s not progressive OR woke. It’s a traditional Polynesian lavalava. Conservative Christian men wear them to church. Come on kids, I thought travel was supposed to expand our horizons!
Not talking about the lavalava…I’m well-aware of what that is.
Hopefully the uniforms won’t be laden with a toxic brew of chemicals like AA & DL, ultimately leading to their demise after so much invested time, energy, hype & $$ !
Count me as someone who thinks “woke” is a click-baity choice of words designed to draw the ire of folks who view it in a negative light.
Mr Klint, men from many parts of the world wear garments similar to this, particularly throughout Polynesia. Western Europe and its modern-day, rather restrictive, set of clothing norms doesn’t represent the world. I’m glad Air New Zealand is offering multiple choices both for the comfort and cultures of its crew members.
Again, I’m not talking about the kilt-like clothing article. I’m talking about the fact that it appears anyone can wear any item…which is a bit different than the past. And air New Zealand embraces it.
Disappointed to see Matthew policing his own speech to satisfy the woke mob, just as I predicted in recent days. Asking them for advice (in the comments section) to make sure he doesn’t offend the 24/7 Karen’s.
It’s a sad reality that no one can ever grovel enough to satisfy the Orwellian Left. They have learned nothing from 2024. Oppression Olympics 2.0
They look great, and are very stylish and modern. I like how ANZ focused on their culture and people and trying something different, and not just repeating what has been done in the past.
But what exactly is the definition of ‘woke’? I hear it thrown around a lot and do not quite understand why it bother’s conservative men. Why are they so threatened by ‘woke’?
I find it so telling when a man feels the need to call out another man for wearing a dress, skirt, or such. Do such men call out a woman for wearing pants? Or a tie and jacket? No, because men who are comfortable with their gender, and sexuality are not affected by such behavior. So if that does bothers you then you really do have some problems and identity issues.
I’m not sure about the pilot uniform. The cut, the pinstripes, and the bright silver buttons make it look like a suit from the 1920s. As for the “woke” aspect, I’m quite happy for people to wear whatever they want, but they shouldn’t be surprised when others comment on, or laugh at, their choices.
Why use it all? Except perhaps to provoke commentary and capitalise on SEM. Both of which I recognise are your business aims. But the point is, these are lovely uniforms and the story could’ve been written without needing to mention “wokeness” at all.
Becuase you cannot ignore it! It’s a beautiful uniform indeed, but look at the pictures…looks at the statments from Air New Zealand.
In the words of our president, “Everything woke turns to shit”
These uniforms look like shit, and Matthew woke is never a good thing.
I want to let you in on something. You didn’t read what I wrote closely.
It’s literally a lavalava – I have Kiwi friends and it’s an (optional) part of their son’s school uniform…it’s designed to be worn with a shirt, tie, and the school’s sweater with black socks and dress shoes.
I’m not sure why people are making a big deal out of nothing here – 20 years ago if ANZ did this people would be talking about how cool it was and how nice it was to honor a local tradition.
Everyone needs to relax.
For the third time, I’m not talking about the lavalava. Goodness…
Yes , Reagan was a true conservative ,
You just to need to look at his policies to come to that conclusion .
Trump is often compared to Reagan !
Surprise , surprise ??
Bush and Romney are not , never have been .
Indulge me, please.
What is a true conservative? Reagan was for NATO, for free trade, for our European allies and Canada…
Why are Bush (41 and 43) and Romney not?
Both Trump and Reagan are true conservatives who have demonstrated true conservative values and virtues through their domestic and foreign policies .
Trump is not anti-NATO ! He just wants the NATO member countries to pay their fair share for their own defence , not American taxpayers !
Both of the Bush Administrations will be remembered for their pointless and senseless wars in the Middle-East !
A terrible legacy , based entirely on lies !!!
As a result of these wars , Middle-East is now less secure , less stable and obviously far less peaceful !!
On the contrary , it is plagued by turmoil and wars !!!
Mit Romney doesn’t need any commentary, except to say that he was totally ineffective, insignificant and now irrelevant as a Republican candidate !!
What is a true conservative? Please share the policy positions (social, economic, and political) that make one a conservative in your view.
Was Romney right on Russia (despite Obama and the media mocking him)?
All people to the right of Barack Obama should be forced into the Bob Barker Solution: spay or neuter your Right Wing twits.
I wrote a detail response to your questions Matthew , but as I was about to send it , I lost it all !!
So I am going to try again .
Stay tuned ?
Thank you for inviting me to respond to your questions Matthew .
I am happy to do so .
Let me just reiterate what I said previously regarding the use of tariffs .
On a purely economic level I am against them as well , because they distort the proper and free play of market forces .
But that is true only if there is a fair playing field , which simply doesn’t exist .
In a perfect world we wouldn’t need tariffs , but unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world .
Trump Administration is trying to reduce tariffs by making American trading partners reduce theirs !
These tariffs have existed for decades and have been hugely unfair on Am people .
So the trading partners need to reduce their tariffs or face reciprocal reprisals !
That is how you reduce them , by negotiation !!
It will work for the benefit of all concerned in the end – economic logic will win in the end – give it time !!!
In regard to what makes a you a true conservative , let me share some thoughts on that ,
I believe that true conservatives need to possess and live by a number of basic values and virtues .
Here are some of them :
Love of God
Love of family
Sanctity of marriage – between a man and woman only
Rejection of moral debauchery
Only two biological sexes exist – male and female
Love of country
Respect for national institutions
Freedom of religion and worship
Freedom of speech
Freedom of movement
Freedom of information
Freedom of association
Respect for the history of your country
Employment and promotion in workplace based on merit only , not DEI
Physical safety for all citizens
Separation of State and Church
Separation of power – executive. Legislature and judiciary
Small governments
Reward for efforts
Right to bear arms
Encouragement and support for free-enterprise
Reduction of government imposed red tape on individuals and businesses
Proper punishments of crimes
No free bail laws
Respect got the Constitution
Rejection of ‘climate change’ ideology and cults
No affirmative action ideology
Belief in education of children not indoctrination
Parents’ rights restored to freely choose what is taught in schools
Belief in individualism and entrepreneurship
Repudiation of ‘net zero’ fraud
Sanctity of human life
Less government waste and spending
Smaller government taxes
Zero government debt
Rewarding Gina risk for new business ventures
No mandatory vaccinations – individual choice
Free use of natural resources such as coal , gas , oil and other mine to reduce the cost of energy for citizens
Promotion of prosperity and security for all citizens through cheap and reliable natural resources
And Yes , a total rejection of all forms of Wokism !!!
In regard to your question as to whether Mitt Romney was right in saying that Russia was the ‘number one geopolitical foe’ ?
Short answer is NO , he was not !!!
He was wrong in 2012 and he is wrong now !
China was number one foe then , and China is number one for today !!!
I actually really appreciate this list. It’s a concise list of all of the things that the GOP stands for today, and all of the inherent contradictions within it.
For example, how does love of god and freedom of religion fit together here? What if I believe in a religion that has multiple gods? Can I not be a republican then? If only Christians are allowed to be true republicans, is that all Christians only specific ones? If only Christians are allowed then how does the separation of church and state work? Do the laws they push not come directly from the church?
Or lets look at physical safety. How does the government provide physical safety for it’s citizens if it has so many limitations? For example, polio killed 15,000+ kids a year in the US before the vaccination was developed. How does the government provide safety to its citizens without requiring vaccination for this entirely preventable disease?
And lastly, maybe you can answer the question of which parent’s get to choose what is taught at schools? If one parent doesn’t like something, does that mean it gets thrown out? What if that person is a woke DEI leftist with a nose ring?
I ask these slightly in jest but seriously, question your own beliefs and challenge them.